Car ramming incident leads to more charges for Waynesboro man

WAYNESBORO - A Waynesboro man arrested in October after reportedly rigging an empty car to slam into a house is now facing two more felony charges after authorities found items in his possession from two homes that were burglarized in April, according to police.

John M. Strother, 53, is charged with two counts of breaking and entering.

In October, police arrested Strother after he allegedly used a piece of wood to depress the gas pedal to a sport utility vehicle, sending the empty SUV crashing into his residence during a domestic dispute on South Winchester Avenue, according to the Waynesboro Police Department.

After arriving at the scene, officers found an unoccupied green Mitsubishi Montero with extensive front-end damage crashed against the exterior of the home, a report stated. A wall to the residence was heavily damaged.

Following his arrest, investigators reportedly found that Strother had possession of property reported stolen from two residences in April, one on his street and the other on South Delphine Avenue, police said. The stolen property allegedly discovered included jewelry and pictures. Additional property was found through pawn shop records.

On Monday, the Waynesboro grand jury indicted Strother on the charges of breaking and entering, along with two charges of felony destruction of private property. He was also indicted on single charges of discharging a missile at an occupied dwelling, assault and battery, and stalking — second offense within five years.

Court records show that since 1996, Strother has been convicted of cocaine distribution, cocaine possession, threat to bomb or burn, credit card fraud and grand larceny.